Customer Reviews

Model Railroad Bridges & Trestles: A Guide to Designing and Building Bridges for Your Layout (Model Railroad Handbook)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This item is perfect if you have been in the hobby of model railroading for some time, or are good at building models from a book of blueprints. However, I have just started and found it really confusing. For someone who is good at this stuff I would give it a five, but if you're a beginner I do not recommend it.

Speaking as one who was formerly a civil engineer, this compendium is a wonderful collection of articles on building bridges for model railroads. It is not a book by a single author. Instead, it is a collection of reprints of articles from Model Railroader magazine. As such, some are better than others but all are good.

Particularly worthy of note is the first series of articles which is a survey of different types of bridges and their design. It is technically correct and conveys enough information to the modeler to do a creditable job but it is yet simple enough to understand for those without an engineering background.

Most of the later articles deal with the construction of particular bridges instead of general principles but they too are well written and adaptable to other situations. Since this work is intended for modelers and not engineers, much of the emphasis is on the aesthetics. This is as it should be as it is the information vital to the modeler.

All in all, this is a great collection.

This book is a collection of articles that have previously appeared in past issues of Model Railroader Magazine. While the articles are informative and insightful, the format that Kalmbach uses to copy the various original bridge and trestle articles and paste them into a book is not very slick. It would have been nice if they would have updated some of the information and added more color photographs. Books in this format appear to be another way for Kalmbach to re-hash old articles of a similar topic, put them under one cover and generate more sales from already published material. This book has become reference material for my library. I however would recommend the Kalmbach book "The Model Railroader's Guide To BRIDGES, TRESTLES & TUNNELS" by Jeff Wilson, this book is fresh, better organized, and a useful tool for modeling railroad bridges.

This book appears to be a compendium of earlier articles from Model Railroader. It starts with "Understanding Bridge Construction" and discusses various types of bridges including trestle design, plate girder bridges, and a look at some prototype bridges with measurements. There are some chapters on actual model bridge construction ("kit-bashing" or "scratch building") but overall, the book leans heavily toward the concepts of bridges so the modeler can make and use the structures as the prototype railroads would. (You don't typically use a huge span to cross a drainage ditch for example.) I found the chapter on wooden trestle and their "bends" (p. 30) useful and the chapter on "Building Black Bear Bridge" (p. 106) fascinating.

I would say this book would be good for the middle level to the experienced modeler. I personally think the novice would be better served buying some of the excellent model bridges available. Even they might appreciate the basics covered in the early chapters.

Excellent resource for the model railroader. This book will inspire you to build. There is an enormous amount of information relating to actual bridge construction as well as techniques for the model builder. There are also many scaled drawings that are both clear and concise.

I know I have given high praise to "The Model Railroader's Guide to Bridges, Trestles & Tunnels", but in all honesty this is THE perfect resource for designing and building your OWN bridges. It gives great detail in almost every aspect of design and construction of bridges, it even gives explanations for what type of bridge would suit diffrent terrains and land masses. Buy this along with "The Model Railroader's Guide to Bridges, Trestles & Tunnels" and you will have THE COMPLETE resource for any and all types of bridge building.

Great for bridges and trestles...you need some practical woodworking experience to master the construction procedures...BUT it wouldn't take long to if you concentrate.

This book helps you to plan many different models of bridges with detailed diagrams.